MAY 5 • 2022 | 41

Richmond 61st
G

ene and Claire 
Richmond marked 
their 61st wedding 
anniversary on Dec. 26, 
2021. They plan to cele-
brate this summer, when 
COVID no longer threatens, 
with their children, grand-
children and friends.

Shapiro 100th

Feldheim-Harvie

E

thel Shapiro of 
Farmington Hills turns 
100 on May 24, 2022. At 
the age of 17, she married the 
“greatest man in the world, 
Seymour Shapiro.” She was 
known as “Dear” for 68 years. 
Together they had four beau-
tiful daughters who married, 
had children and made her a 
Nana. Ethel is celebrating with 
her eight children, 14 grandchil-
dren, 15 great-grandchildren 
and many friends. Her secret to long life is being gor-
geous every day and staying glad not mad. 

B

everly and Stuart 
Feldheim of West 
Bloomfield wish to 
announce the engagement 
of their daughter, Kimberly 
Shindel to Jamie Harvie, son 
of Alex Harvie and Katherine 
Fowler of Troon, Scotland.
The pair met in Glasgow, 
where Kim was attending grad-
uate school.
A September wedding 
is planned at Oran Mor in 
Glasgow, Scotland.

SPIRIT

Exploiting Weaknesses 
I

magine this scene: A mother 
says to her daughter, “Have 
a good time playing outside; 
be a good girl, be honest; respect 
people you meet; by the way, if 
you see a blind person on the 
street don’t put something 
in his way so he trips and 
falls.
”
That last instruction 
would seem unnecessary 
after the general instruc-
tion to be “good.
” Yet, that 
is exactly what we read in 
this week’s Torah portion.
The parshah begins 
with the general introduc-
tion: “You shall be holy 
for I, the Lord your God, 
am holy.
” Then we read a 
rather long list of specific 
mitzvot, including respect your 
parents, observe the Shabbat, 
don’t bear a grudge, love your 
neighbor as yourself and don’t 
put a stumbling block before the 
blind.
How are we to understand 
the last mitzvah in this list? 
Wouldn’t we have known not 
to do something so horrendous 
without the Torah reminding us?
The rabbis of tradition had an 
answer to this question. They 
understood the use of the phrase 
“stumbling block before the 
blind” as referring to actions that 
we might be less careful to avoid; 
and, thus, the mitzvah becomes 
a critical part of teaching us 
to be “holy.
” They interpreted 
“blind” to refer to someone who 
is, metaphorically speaking, 
blind in a particular way.
The rabbis understood that 
if someone has a weakness 
that they struggle with that 
is beyond their control and 
another person takes advantage 
of that weakness, that person 
is, in essence, “putting a stum-

bling block before the blind.
” 
If we, for example, offer food 
or drink to an individual that 
we know should not have it, or 
tempt someone to violate what 
we know to be their values and 
commitments, we are 
transgressing the mitzvah.
In addition, there is 
another interpretation, 
which says the stumbling 
block reference means 
giving someone advice 
that is not appropriate for 
him or her. How often do 
we find ourselves willing 
to offer our ideas to some-
one else without thinking 
whether the advice is 
good for them? How often 
do we, instead of telling a 
friend to consult a physician, an 
attorney or a counselor, decide 
to dispense “wisdom” based on 
our experience — experience 
that might be totally or even 
subtly different from theirs? In 
that way, we are, in fact, leading 
someone astray and perhaps 
causing them to stumble.
Of course, giving advice to a 
friend isn’t always a bad idea; 
and, while it is good to be sen-
sitive, it is up to an individual 
to act on advice, accept or not 
accept it. Each person must be 
aware of his or her own weak-
nesses and not simply blame 
someone else for tempting them.
In commanding us to be holy, 
the Torah instructs us to take 
on more responsibility in caring 
for the well being of others. By 
being sensitive to others, we take 
a step closer to the Torah’s ulti-
mate goal. 

Robert Dobrusin is rabbi emeritus at 

Beth Israel Congregation in Ann Arbor. 

This article originally appeared in the 

JN April 28, 2011.

TORAH PORTION

Rabbi Robert 
Dobrusin

Parshat 

Kedoshim: 

Leviticus 

19:1-20:27; 

Amos 9:7-15.

